A Winn3r Is You: Team Dai Gurren
by An Ordinary Fan
Summary: An entry for avatarjk137's 'A Winn3r Is You' contest.  Right before a dramatic battle, Viral, Kamina, Simon, Yoko, Leeron, and Boota are taken away from their world.  Can they work together to stop BORED and save their homeland?  Only time will tell!
1. The Prologue

Good…whatever time you're reading this at, ladies and gentlemen! About one year ago, a fanfic writer named 'avatarjk137' hosted a sequel to his original writing tournament, 'A Winner Is You!'. In the original, various fanfic writers chose one or two characters from works of fiction. Then, they had to pick another writer involved in the tournament, and both writers had to create a chapter where their characters beat each other up. The chapter deemed better than the other was given a point, and whoever had the most points at the end received a reward from avatarjk137. The sequel tournament, 'A Winner is Two!', was similar, with the main difference being that the victor was decided by how long they survived instead of mere points; writers that lose the challenges could have their characters 'killed off' if the opponent desired, and could no longer use them in the tournament.

Now, the third tournament is starting soon, and I'm going to try my hardest to win it. In this competition, instead of picking up to two characters, each writer can now submit entire teams. And for my first entry out of the two I plan to submit, I have decided to use Simon, Kamina, Yoko, Boota, and Leeron from Team Dai-Gurren. I'm choosing to yank them right before the second battle with Thylimph, the Beastman General that…well, for those that have never heard of the series, I won't spoil anyone. The team will also be accompanied by Viral, for 'teh lulz' if nothing else. Oh, and terribly sorry if this is too lengthy of an introduction chapter. Once I started writing this thing, it was kinda hard to know when to stop…

* * *

**TEAM DAI-GURREN PROLOGUE – FOR THE SAKE OF A UNITED WORLD**

**~.~**

"…And so, Lordgenome, you can understand how vital this information would be to my associates. Considering that neither of us have many other resources available to us at this point, working together to eliminate this uprising would be the most logical option for success."

Lordgenome, the Spiral King, studied the strange figure before him. Ordinarily, such a character would have no right to be there. At first glance, he was nothing more than another foul human, draped in a black cloak to protect him from the vast wastelands one had to cross to reach Teppelin. But Lordgenome could sense something odd about the man; despite having some strange power within him, he did not have an ounce of Spiral Energy within his core, a trait that had only been possessed by his underlings until now. As the stranger claimed to have a peaceful proposition for him, Lordgenome had granted him the audience he sought. And although he did not say it aloud, he had to admit that the stranger's proposal was quite appealing.

"Very well then, being void of Spiral Energy," uttered Lordgenome in a deep, commanding voice. "Vice Commander Viral! Please stand forward and present your findings to our…special guest."

Upon his lord's command, the Vice Commander of the Human Annihilation Army, Eastern Unit, First District, stepped out from the shadows of the room. Similar to the stranger in the court, Viral had many similarities to the common human, with enough key differences to tell the two apart. Most telling were his teeth as jagged as a shark's, and a pair of eyes as sharp as a cat. As he was a Beastman, such descriptions of his appearance were as literal as one could get.

"But of course, my liege," Viral began, before turning to face the stranger. "My investigation began months ago, as through a sheer fluke in experiments meant to improve the efficiency of our Gunmen, we accessed a world parallel to our own. You have said that such a power is common for your organization, but to our people, it was nothing less than a stroke of luck. I volunteered to investigate the new world, and in little time, discovered the existence of an empire known as BORED. It was a horrible discovery, as for reasons we still have yet to figure out, it threatened to obliterate all we have ever worked for. They wanted access to power great enough to bypass the laws of life and death, which would create a massive outburst of Spiral Energy and ruin everything that the Beastman empire has worked towards. Now, as I had lost to a pathetic naked ape in combat prior to this event…"

Viral couldn't help but pause for a few brief moments before continuing with his report. His defeat to those infernal naked apes with blue hair would forever be scarred into his memory, but for the good of his lord, he had to reserve his resentment for later. "…It was only right that I regained my honor through conducting espionage in the middle of enemy territory. For such a powerful force, you'd be surprised just how trusting those pathetic humans could be if they aren't prepared for educated minds such as the one I was blessed with…"

**~.~**

_"All this time, Mr. Curtiss, and you never once asked me why I was so loyal to you," Viral whispered to himself. "I wonder if you already knew who I was…or if you were too confident in your own abilities to be concerned over such a thing. I guess I'll find out the answer to that by the day's end."_

_With a few swift movements, the Beastman commander shed his disguise. As there always seemed to be more Klokateer minions scurrying around the base than there was, it was simple to infiltrate the outpost used by B.O.R.E.D. during its "A Winner Is Two" publicity stunt. And as the average intelligence quota of one of those filthy naked apes was barely enough to avoid electrocution when installing a light bulb, it didn't take long for the opportunity to work with Jade Curtiss to present itself to him. Viral had been able to retrieve enough information about their "Project Lotus" to suffice, and by sheer luck, got direct insight as to Mr. Curtiss' experiments in genetic manipulation. Why the corpse of a powerless contestant was necessary was beyond Viral's comprehension, but if he didn't want to blow his cover, he'd obey the spectacled naked ape's inane commands._

_Once the unwilling contestants of the publicity stunt began to fight back, it was a breeze for Viral to escape without being detected. After all, the majority of the maggots were all heading the other direction, scrambling either for revenge or merely to escape from the hell they'd gotten themselves involved with. However, there weren't many options for escaping that didn't involve going back into the belly of the beast, which could make Viral's entire mission as pointless as it was degrading. By sheer luck, soon after reaching one of the island's shores, he managed to find two beings he could actually tolerate standing near for more than two minutes. What were their names? Dino and Judie? Regardless, they possessed traits revealing non-human genetics, which was adequate enough for him._

_It took a bit of effort to coax them into assisting him, however. They had come to the territory in order to assist their friends, and while Viral could not confirm or deny the existence of the one named 'Vitali', he could certainly remember digging up the one named Gig from his impromptu grave. Although they seemed upset that their comrades would not even receive a decent burial, Viral convinced them that it was better if they escaped while there was still an island to escape from. Using some odd artifact they referred to as a 'Scarlet Tear', the two non-humans were able to return to their own homeland as the bearers of bad news, and returned Viral back to his own dimension as well. Oddly enough, Viral never did find out what happened to Mr. Curtiss, but the Beastman had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time he'd have to deal with the associates of BORED…_

**~.~**

"…And that concludes the report on my infiltration of BORED facilities," Viral finished, hoping it was adequate enough for the stranger. Although he wouldn't admit it, the faster he could move on with his life and stop having to recount time spent with those furless abominations, the better.

"Very interesting…" the stranger mused, one hand resting on his chin in a thoughtful pose. "My superiors can certainly make use of this knowledge, especially the information on Jade Curtiss. He's been missing since the incident, and data on his last project could be the key to tracking him down. Now, before we decide on a strategy to eliminate our common foe, I insist that you inform me of the properties of this 'Spiral Energy' you referred to. Perhaps utilizing it to our advantage is the key to victory…"

"Are you insane?" Viral spat. Had he been given the order to, the beastman wouldn't have hesitated to slice the black-cloaked man's head off right there and then. "Must I reiterate that Spiral Energy is what we are trying to _eliminate_ from society? In addition, it can only be wielded by humans such as that _bastard_ Kamina of the Gur-whatever, and I absolutely refuse to cooperate with those lowly naked apes ever again!"

"Am I? Consider the following, if you will. In previous battles, we have displayed the tactical genius to come out victorious against our foes, only to fail for reasons we cannot comprehend. Perhaps if we attempted to pit these troublesome creatures against each other, we would have better results. In a best case scenario, one of your greatest threats will be utterly annihilated, and the other members of Organization XIII can mop up the remains of the other party. Perhaps _I_ must be the one to reiterate information; specifically, that we have run out of other resources."

"Stand down and cooperate, Viral," commanded Lordgenome. The Vice Commander gaped at his words, before quickly backing away from their guest and bowing in apology. Though he hated the thought of what he would be forced to do, if his king committed to this idea so quickly, he had no other choice but to obey. "For the future of this world, Zexion, we shall agree to your terms. Now, how do you plan on harnessing the Spiral Power that you seek? "

"Oh, my Nobodies will quickly take care of that little problem," said the Organization member. "Your Vice Commander mentioned a bastard named Kamina? If my suspicions are correct, he shall be the perfect idiot for this assignment. Of course, I highly recommend that your Vice Commander accompany the group I send, just in case they decide to rebel. You wouldn't mind that too much, would you?"

If he didn't know better, Viral would've sworn that Zexion was smirking at him right then and there. It took every nerve in his body not to shout to the stars above and eviscerate the blue-haired book-wielder with his own two claws. It seemed that the human hater's suffering had yet to be over and done with.

**~.~**

It was the middle of the night. Earlier that day, the former Team Gurren, now the re-christened Team Dai-Gurren, first encountered Beastman General Thymilph and his mobile Gunman carrier. After a little motivation from their leader, the great Kamina, it appeared that their goal was unanimous: they'd use Simon and his Lagann to jack the controls away from the big gorilla…thing…and use it as their own base of operations.

Simon, however, wasn't so confident about the whole thing. Kamina was a brother to him, and had believed that Simon had talent back when they were in the underground village of Littner, before the whole mess with the Beastman army ever started. Yoko, who had helped them countless times, would be right behind him with her sniper rifle and bazooka. Boota, his little pigmole buddy, would be riding on his shoulder and keeping him company even during the most dangerous parts of the mission. Leeron, though he still gave him and Kamina the creeps, would be providing the support and surveillance he'd need to survive without his bro's help. And of course, there were all of those other nice people that would be supporting their fight against the Beastman's tyranny.

…_But I'm just a single kid,_ Simon thought to himself, as he struggled to get comfortable in his Lagann. Just in case the Beastmen decided to go against their regular behavior and try to attack at night for once, the boy with the drill necklace wanted to be somewhere safe. _What if all those people die because I mess up? I still don't really know how Lagann works, so what if I accidentally break it when I'm surrounded by Beastmen? I'll be dead, that's what! And what about Yoko and-_

Simon couldn't shake it out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. Yoko was always really kind to him, and he couldn't help but get a bit of a crush on her. But a little while earlier, he'd accidentally seen her with…it was nonsense, utter nonsense! He should be happy for them! After all, they were like family to him! And if had gone the other way, Kamina wouldn't be worrying about it…would he? Didn't matter; Simon had seen them kissing, and he couldn't un-see it. Either he could deal with it, or he'd let the stress drive him crazy. It was probably for the best, too; not only was Kamina closer to her age, but he was also brave enough to protect her no matter how much danger she was in. The more Simon thought about it, the more he could see how they were perfect for each other…so why did this hurt so much?

After spending another few minutes thinking about it, Simon's mind finally stopped focusing on the kiss between Kamina and Yoko. Not because he'd finally accepted it, though. But you have to admit, a silver-colored beast appearing in front of you and pointing a featureless face at you is rather distracting.

Simon was so scared, he couldn't speak. His first instinct was to turn Lagann on, and then rush back to camp. If the others weren't in a deep sleep, they'd wake up from the noise, and they'd come to his aid. But the beast was too fast; it knocked the drill bit out of Simon's hand with one swipe, and knocked Lagann's pilot out with another. Boota, who had been on Simon's shoulder the whole time, wisely decided to jump down near Simon's legs before he was brushed away like a fly. A few more Nobodies materialized out of thin air, took hold of Lagann, and began carrying it away…

**~.~**

"You've got to be out of your mind! Do you think that the legendary Kamina of the Dai-Gurren Brigade, the man who risks his very soul to preserve justice for humans, would ever just lay his dignity aside and willingly cooperate with the forces of evil? Especially when said evil has the gall to kidnap him, his bro, and his girl during his well-earned nap? News flash, jerkface: **who the hell do you think I am**?"

With a noise as loud and full of testosterone as Kamina's voice, Simon couldn't help but awaken from his injury-induced slumber. Looking around, the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone. Boota was still with him, but he could see some of his friends nearby, too. Yoko was standing a few feet away, right next to Leeron, who was still rubbing dust out of his eyes. But Kamina was the most awake and alert out of all of them, eyes blazing and swords crossed with Vira-

"Viral?" Simon burst, loudly enough that Leeron fell flat on his backside in alarm. The digger took a few moments to look around, and realized that not only was he within a few feet of one of his bro's rivals, but that they were all in some unknown location with extremely tall structures surrounding them. "What's he doing here? Where's 'here', anyways? Where's Rossieu and the others?"

"Apparently, we're in some surface city known as 'Metropolis'," Yoko told him. Simon guessed that, since she wasn't panicking as much as he was, there had already been some communication going on before he had awoken. "Sharkboy here and some weird silvery Beastmen snuck into camp late last night and dragged us here under orders from his boss. He _says_ that if we help take care of some humans that want to wipe out both his friends and other humans, they'll escort us back home and stop the daily raids on our homes. After that, Kamina decided to take action, and then you woke up."

"…Well, I don't feel weird," Simon uttered, calming down and trying to examine things in an optimistic light. "If the weird Beastmen wanted to hurt us, they could've done so last night instead of just kidnapping us. It'd odd to think that there are people that would want to harm other people in addition to Beastmen, but if it's enough of a problem that-"

"Simon!" Kamina interrupted, trying to keep steady while fighting Viral. "Don't just retreat into your happy place and buy all these lies! You know that Beastmen only attack during the day; an ambush at night not only goes against their regular style, it's a cowardly and unmanly action! A man needs at least eight hours of sleep if he wants to be in the best shape for battle! And if this so-called 'BORED' group he's telling us about is as powerful as he says, then why the hell didn't you take Gurren along with us?"

"First off, those silvery creatures aren't actually a part of my lord's forces, so they could do whatever the hell their master wanted them to," Viral answered, once he managed to knock Kamina out of his personal space. "And second, it's apparently 'against the rules' to crush the opposition with something as great and powerful as a Gunman. Besides, our sponsor's minions couldn't have snuck something that big past your naked ape brigade even if they tried. At least that twerp's machine is qualified, or you'd all be nothing but cannon fodder for some of our tougher opponents."

Enraged at his bro being insulted, Kamina was about to charge back towards Viral and continue fighting, but Yoko grabbed his arm and halted his movement. "Don't you cause more trouble than you have to, you big idiot," she said. "Like it or not, this whole mess seems too complicated to be anything less than what Viral's saying it is, and that means everyone we know is in danger if we don't work together and stop these BORED guys. Plus, I doubt Viral's happy having to work with us, and fighting will probably just make things worse. It's best to just grin and bare it until we can get back to our friends."

Yoko glanced at her 'boyfriend', and noticed that he now sported a deep blush and unfocused eyes. She had a feeling that he was in this state since she uttered the word 'bare', and decided to let it slide for convenience's sake. Deciding that there was no real reason to worry, and that the reward for this adventure would be worth the effort, Simon was feeling more invigorated than he had been for a really long time. Since his big bro was still daydreaming, Simon decided to be the one to say something motivational.

"All right, everyone, let's go!" Simon said, punching the air for dramatic effect. "For the sake of a united world! Let's go and show these guys the power of Team Dai-Gurren!"

With the exception of Viral, the others made a similar gesture, eager to do their best in the trials ahead. The Beastman merely shrugged and hoped that he could at least survive this miserable torment…

**PROLOGUE – END**

* * *

So…how was it? Does anyone think that I have a good grasp on everyone's characterization? It took me a long while to get a product I'm happy to upload, so I certainly hope that you guys enjoy it. Review if you have something to say, best of luck to my fellow competitors, and happy holidays!


	2. Versus the Touchdowns

**TEAM DAI-GURREN ROUND 1 - WHEN YOU FIGHT, I FIGHT**

Hotel Dusk. Perhaps not the best place that Zexion could've afforded with his sponsor funds, but it would suffice for now. Oddly enough, since his appearance before Lordgenome, Viral hadn't seen the blue-haired child at all. But getting back on track, the team was currently located in an abandoned lot close to their temporary HQ, where the team mechanic was performing a check-up on the Lagann.

"Hmm…bad news, boys," Leeron told the group, as his laptop finished running diagnostics on the team's strongest weapon. "Looks like those Nobodies that Viral's in cahoots with messed up big time during the transport. We could hope that it temporarily fixes itself in the middle of combat, like what happened during our first encounter with Thymilph, but it's not worth the risk this early in the competition. Sorry, Simon, but you're going to have to sit this first match out."

"Oh, that's okay," Simon said. "Honestly, I still don't feel okay with the idea of fighting humans like us. I mean, I've heard that some of our opponents have things like robots and mutants that could probably injure Lagann if I'm not careful, but I'm not sure I could hurt somebody like me even if my life depended on it. Besides, I'm sure that big bro will be able to-"

"No."

Everyone in the room quickly turned their heads to the source of the voice. Considering how Simon's last sentence was beginning, it was little surprise that Kamina was talking now. "Simon, your soul and mine have a bond stronger than the heavens. Despite the consequences of your actions, if you feel that you are not fit to fight, then I shall lay down my sword as well."

"But, bro, don't you remember last night, when we…uh…" Simon started to say, but quickly shut up when he realized that Viral was also in the room. No matter what kind of alliance they had formed with him, talking about how they planned to steal his boss' Gunman was a horrible idea.

"Well, we'd still be fighting the same battle, right? When you fight, I fight. When you stay, I stay. We bring out the best of each other, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Kamina replied.

"Oh, how touching," Viral uttered, his tone clearly a mocking one. "Now, if you're done uttering drivel I could find in a self-help book, I'd like to nominate myself for a fighting position. It pains me to say this, but if you pesky naked apes still believe that you're here just so my superiors can get a few chuckles, the only way I can convince you otherwise is to risk my own health for the cause."

Yoko, who'd adapted oddly well to this whole mess, merely shrugged. "Okay, that's good. So, Leeron, I guess that makes you-"

"Sorry, hon, but I'd rather work on repairs ASAP rather than wait until after the round, in case your opponents come to us looking for an unauthorized rematch," Leeron told her.

"What? But that only leaves us with-"

~.~

Some time later, Viral received a memo from one of Zexion's minions, telling them where and when the first round of the tournament would be at. The fighting members organized themselves in the paintball field where the battle would take place, while Simon and Kamina opted to watch from the sidelines. Their opponents had arrived ahead of them, but despite their longer prep time, they probably weren't expecting what the Dai-Gurren brigade had brought…

"Ya gotta be fuckin' kidding me," Travis Touchdown, the star of the "No More Heroes" video games, muttered as he saw his designated opponent. On the ground floor of the paintball field, Jeane was doing a few last-minute stretches, while Henry smoothed out a crease in his beige longcoat.

"All right, sportsfans, time for the next fight of Round 1!" announced Deadpool, the host of the tournament, from his position in the commentator's box. "Fighting for Hell, it's the most screwed-up family since the Osbornes: Travis, Henry, and Jeane! And their opponents are a hot chick with a gun, a bishonen with teeth you could use as a can opener, and…the Team Pet? Damn, that's more embarrassing than the drummer named 'Pickles'! Ah, well; it's their funeral. Let's get ready to rumble!"

"Boo boota boo!" cried Boota the pigmole, Simon's pet ever since the day he & Kamina first saw the surface of their world, as he stared up at Travis. The spiky-haired otaku, ready to achieve a quick victory for their team, charged forward and attempted to squish the rodent under his foot. Screw the rules about not murdering your opponent; if his foes decided to pit him against something that a light breeze could knock into a coma, he may as well go all-out on the pest.

On the lower level of the paintball field, the other two Dai-Gurren participants were locked in fierce duels with the opponent that shared their gender. That is to say, Viral and Henry had locked their katanas, neither one allowing the other an opening, while Jeane was using her agility to dodge every shot that Yoko took.

"Let's talk. I found that learning a bit more about your prey makes their pleading all the more satisfying once you've attained dominance over them," the blonde femme fatale uttered as she leapt over a missile that contained sleeping gas (since killing the opponent in this tournament was a no-go), gaining a bit of ground on her opponent while doing so. "You're pretty good with that glorified pistol of yours. Where did you learn your skills? Tutored by Doctor Peace, perhaps? Or perhaps you spent some time in the military with Holly Summers. Me? I've trained with masters before, but most of my talent was self-taught."

"I learned everything I needed to survive in Littner Village, my home. Learning things on your own is good, but if you're fighting against a force that could hurt everyone you care about, there are advantages to working together to reach a common goal," Yoko replied, before she threw a flash grenade at her opponent. She managed to get lucky and stun the assassin, and although it was enough for Yoko to dash back and get more distance between them, Jeane wasn't the sort that would let something like this slow her down for long.

Back on the upper levels of the battle zone, it would be an understatement if I said that Travis was having difficulty in his efforts to eliminate his much smaller, much quicker opponent

"Ta ta boota!" squeaked Boota as he ran between Travis' legs, dodging yet another blow that could have instantly ended his existence.

"STAY STILL, YOU LITTLE RAT!" Travis shouted like a man possessed, swinging his weapon furiously. "AND STOP CRYING LIKE A GODDAMN POKEMON!"

In the otaku's fury, he let his instincts take over and launched his entire body towards the pigmole. Boota wasn't prepared to avoid a blow as big as an entire human body, so he decided that all he could do was protect his little black glasses with his tiny paws. Travis' torso made a direct hit against his opponent, and the assassin was quite pleased…until the platform started to buckle. It turns out that, after you hit something over fifty times with a beam katana by accident due to your target moving out of the way repeatedly, it's prone to collapsing after one major blow.

"Welp, so much for winnin' due to Travis stayin' up there," Henry commented after hearing a loud thud near his position, though he kept his eyes on the beastman before him. "Guess it's just a matter of which of the lassies can stand up the longest. Because I can assure you, lad, that I'm not gonna go down if this is the best you've got to offer."

"Oh, I'm just getting started, you inferior naked ape. I may not know what _you're_ fighting for, but I'm fighting for the protection of my world, and for the glory of my fellow beastmen. And even if I fail in saving my homeland, our strength shall never be forgotten, least of all by imbeciles such as you!" Viral stated. He then , and launched two quick strikes at his opponent's back.

"Really, now? Well, I'm kinda doin' the same," Henry said, moving his sword arm behind himself. He parried both blows without looking behind him and with only a bit of effort, and Viral had to admit, it was a bit impressive. "…But what I tell people doesn't sound nearly as arrogant as what you said. You could give my half-brother a run for his money in the ego department, you know."

And now for something not entirely different, Travis was starting to stand up, no longer stunned by the collapse of the layer he was on. _"I can't believe I was almost pwnd by a lousy rat-thing," _he thought to himself._ "You know what? I'm tired of this shit. It's time to end this!"_

Viral noticed the now-standing Travis out of the corner of his eye. What's more, it looked like the assassin was charging up some kind of attack. He briefly looked away from Henry in order to judge Yoko's position. After all, he had the skill to handle two fierce warriors at once, but the naked ape and her long-distance attacks might not fare as well. Judging that she probably wouldn't survive a direct attack, Viral kicked Henry in the shins, stunning the Irishman, and started dashing away from him…

And that's when Travis was ready to unleash his power. "CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE SUNDAE!"

There was a flash of red light that engulfed the entire battlefield, emanating from Travis Touchdown. When it cleared, it appeared as though both of his opponents were still conscious. However, after a few seconds, Viral collapsed. The audience waited to see if Yoko would do the same, but stopped when they realized that Viral had positioned himself between Travis and the girl. In other words, he used himself as a shield so his partner had a chance to win the fight. However, Yoko was worried that she wouldn't be able to pull this off…

"And Team Dai-Gurren's the winner! Someone give Travis a chill pill, and get him outta there!" announced Deadpool, which was certainly surprising to Yoko and Travis.

"…What? WHAT! You can't just kick me out while I'm in my prime, dude! Tell 'em, Henry!" Travis exclaimed, looking towards his half-brother to back him up. However, Travis quickly noticed that the chestnut-haired man was lying unconscious on the ground. Turning to his other teammate's last known location, he saw that Jeane was out for the count, too.

"Heh…you really ought to control your temper better, you idiot," Yoko taunted, using her rifle to support himself. "We might've been caught off-guard by that stint of yours, but so were your allies. Next time, you might want to warn them before you blow up their surroundings."

"Welp, Travis, the hot chick pretty much summed it up for me," Deadpool announced. "Thanks for playing, and be sure to pick up a copy of the home version on your way outta here…what's that, yellow text boxes? There's still nine more rounds until a winner's decided? And we don't have a home version? Well, why not? We could make a fortune off of merchandising!"

Deciding to ignore Deadpool's seemingly endless narrative, Travis sheathed his katana and went to make sure that Henry and Jeane weren't too damaged. Similarly, Yoko went to check on Viral, who was starting to regain consciousness when she arrived.

"So…do you think your loud-mouthed friends are finally going to understand the severity of the situation?" uttered the beastman. He then coughed, for that was one heck of a sentence, and he was still rather weary.

"A little more than earlier, I think," replied Yoko, as she extended her hand. "Now get up. Even though you were my willing meat shield, that doesn't mean I'm giving you a piggyback ride back to the hotel."

"As if I'd need a nake…a 'human' to carry me like a tired infant," Viral said, using Yoko's arm to help lift him up. As he got back to his feet, he noticed that the pigmole had found its way onto Yoko's shoulder without any of them noticing. It was a crafty little thing, capable of doing things of great importance despite its inferiority in the grand scheme of things…kinda like the naked apes, if you thought about it.

~.~

Up in the stands, Kamina and Simon were discussing the results of the match. "Well, I guess that might have more chops than I assumed," uttered the older of the two.

"Yeah…but if Viral is being honest this means that our world really is in danger if we fail, isn't it? It was bad enough when we were fighting the beastmen; Yoko barely survived that one guy's attack even with protection, and I'm not certain if we can get through this," Simon replied, his fear evident.

"Accidentally taken out by their own ally…man, what a cop-out! That 'Travis' guy is even more pathetic than Gordon! This is an embarrassment; how dare they represent the Netherworld!"

Kamina and Simon, not recognizing the new voice, turned around and saw a strange boy sitting behind them. He was wearing a red scarf, wasn't wearing a shirt at all, and had hair as blue as theirs…though his had two antenna-looking things rising from the top. When they began examining his face to see if he had any distinguishing marks on it, the bros realized that the stranger was now angrily glaring at them. "What do you two peons think you're looking at? Are Overlords not allowed to express their opinions around here? 'Cause if not, back off already!"

"Yessir, right away sir!" Simon said to Laharl, before jumping out of his seat and dashing to the exit. Kamina watched his little bro run in fear, and let out a sigh. He was prepared to start a monologue about how he hoped that Simon would man up already, because his big bro wouldn't always be there to support him…but realized that Laharl was still glaring at him, and decided to hightail it out as well.

**FIRST ROUND - END**

**A/N:** And this marks the second of my two First Round entries, this one uploaded in the nick of time! I read my opponent (Clement Rage)'s entry beforehand, and I tried to make things interesting using diversity; in his entry, Kamina and Simon fight instead of Boota and Viral, and Simon's angst over letting people down is the main focus over Viral's attempts at gaining the trust of those he kidnapped. I suppose this gives you casual readers the motivation to check out both of our entries, doesn't it?


	3. Versus Team Spyro

**TEAM DAI-GURREN ROUND 2: AT LEAST ONE COULD DREAM**

It was another, bright, cheery day in Metropolis…well, as cheery as it could get with an open portal to the netherworld, and a tournament being held that could decide the ultimate fate of mankind. Half of our protagonists…the male, 100% human members of the Dai-Gurren Brigade to be precise…were heading towards the local Convention Centre. Leeron had finished the repairs on the Lagann last night, and Simon was giving him a lift with it. Kamina, who wanted to get _some_ action this round, had instead chosen to walk alongside the mech.

"Hey, Leeron? I know I said I'd fight with my bro to the end, but…children's games? That's seriously the challenge for this round?" the leader of Team Dai-Gurren asked, finding it hard to believe that he wouldn't get a chance to display his semi-legendary fighting prowess anytime soon. "I mean, at the very least, couldn't the others have done this instead of us?"

"Well, Yoko needed to clean out her gun, and Viral's wounds still need time to heal," Leeron explained. "I suppose I could've brought the pigmole, but he'd probably just chew on the pieces. At least Simon's being a good sport about all this, aren't you?"

"…Wha?" Simon mumbled, not fully awake and keeping most of his concentration on the road ahead. "Oh, sorry, Leeron. Guess I just couldn't sleep after hearing those stories last night."

With those words, Leeron had a brief flashback. Just in case Round 2 was also a fighting round, the mechanic had spent most of the night working on Simon's secret weapon, and the young driller had decided to stick by him and help in whatever way he could. Dunning Smith, the owner of the hotel they were staying at, decided to help them stay awake by telling them stories about a guest he once had. Said guest was a detective-turned-salesman named Kyle Hyde, and he was trying to track down his missing partner Bradley…Leeron had forgotten the rest of the details, but Simon had apparently become enamored with the concept of being a detective, and could barely sleep a wink because of it. The flashback then ended, and Leeron saw that the group had reached their destination.

"Now, I'd hate to brag, but I'm probably the only one of us that has any experience with these kinds of games before. So, just go find something that looks interesting to you."

"Hey, how about this one?" Simon said, holding up a box with the word 'Clue' printed on the side. "All three of us can play it, and it's about doing detective stuff! Cool coincidence, huh?"

"I suppose so," Kamina remarked, as he took a seat at the team's designated table. "Now, I guess all we have to do is to wait for these 'Team Spyro' guys to show…the hell kind of beastmen is THAT?"

Turning towards where Kamina was facing, Leeron and Simon noticed a trio of reptilian creatures heading towards them. One of them, who appeared to be the leader, was standing fully upright and was wearing half of a suit. The other two seemed more like wild beasts then creatures capable of rational thought, but as they got closer, the humans could definitely tell that they were speaking in complete sentences. And as the odd trio got even closer, it was soon evident that they were Team Dai-Gurren's competition for this round.

"So, you're the other half of Team Dai-Gurren? Well, since we're not trying to kill each other yet, I may as well say that it's nice to finally meet you," uttered the well-dressed gecko. "We had the opportunity to witness the other half of your squad fight yesterday, and while I'd prefer an easy match, I'd expect that you lot are as mentally fit as they were physically apt. So, I assume we're all ready to get this over and done with?"

"Actually, Gex, we didn't play games like this back on our world," uttered the purple dragon, which apparently wasn't named Gex. Simon noticed that, while the purple dragon was admitting his lack of knowledge, he was holding onto the black dragon's paw to boost his confidence. The digger guessed that they really cared for each other, maybe as much as Kamina cared for him…maybe as much as he cared for Yoko, actually, but Simon was too tired to focus on worrying.

"Oh, right. What with the remarkable coincidence that we're all English-speaking reptiles, I guess I'm still not accustomed to our cultural differences," uttered the lizard in the tuxedo. Turning to Team Dai-Gurren, he politely asked, "I bet that you lot never have to deal with this kind of problem, am I right?"

After a few moments of silence, Simon slowly raised his hand. "Uh…actually, my bro and I lived underground for most of our lives, so we don't really-"

"Simon, you fool!" Kamina interrupted, clamping a hand over Simon's mouth before another word could be spoken. "Don't be deceived by their cuddly yet scaly appearance! They are the enemy, and just one false word could end with our complete annihilation! My gut tells me so, and that means it's as good as true!"

"Oh, don't get your britches in a bunch, Kamina," Leeron told him. "The rest of us are behaving very admirably given our circumstances, so I suggest that we put the big pic on hold for a while and just try to enjoy ourselves. Now, I've found a copy of the rules, so listen closely while I read aloud…"

And so, the game began. But, being accustomed to a world where one had to try as hard as they could to survive, Simon was starting to feel a little bored. Slowly but surely, Simon began to grow sleepy, and the boundary between fiction and reality seemed to fade away…

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"You're probably wondering why I called you all to this room. More importantly, you're also wondering why our gracious host has yet to show his face. Well, gentlemen…and one chick…I have distressing news. I checked his room this morning, and it appears that Mr. Boddy…has been killed."

The five other people in the room simultaneously gasped. They had all come up to Mr. Boddy's mansion the night before, having been invited because they were all close, personal friends of his. The fact that any one of them would have a reason to end his existence was completely absurd, but Detective Scamina was not the kind of man who would lie to them, especially with his best friend in the room.

"Now then," the red-cloaked man that had been speaking earlier continued, "I got no clue which one of us did it. But I know for sure that it was one of us, 'cause I haven't seen a butler or maid since we stepped into this dump. Now, I have taken the precaution of locking all the doors and windows, so that the vile fiend will not be able to escape from the wrath of justice."

"What? That's outrageous! You can't hold us hostage, you babbling twit!" exclaimed Mrs. Whynder. Her husband, the distinguished Col. Muspyro, tried her best to hold her back; one murder in this household was already more than enough.

"'Course I can, missy! They don't call me Detective Scamina just because I'd be an awesome character in a buddy cop show! …Actually, that sounds like a good idea. We could call it 'Double S'…I'd need to find a second 'S', though…any ideas, bro?"

"Uh, about the murder, or the show? B-because I really don't like the idea that one of killed poor Mr. Boddy," replied Professor Plumon, Scamina's purple-clothed childhood friend. "But I guess that if we want to solve this mystery, we could all work together and search for clues."

"Well, the mastermind behind this might try to frame another for his or her vile deeds, but I suppose that we have few other choices right now. So, let's all split up, and meet back here later. Tally ho!" cried the hot-blooded detective, charging down the halls like a knight's valiant steed heading towards-

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"Simon! Simon, snap out of it! It's your turn!"

"Bwuh?" Simon muttered, snapping out of his daydream. He rolled the die, moved his little purple piece across the board, and made it enter one of the rooms. "Oh, I get to make a guess now, right. Uh…was it the yellow piece-"

"Colonel Mustard," Gex corrected, the instructions now in his…whatever reptiles had instead of hands.

"Right, right. Was it Mustard in the…kitchen, I guess? With the lead pipe?"

"Nope, but it was a good try," Spyro said, as he slid one of his face-down cards over to Simon. Being careful so that the competition couldn't look at it, Simon used one hand to block curious eyes and flipped it over. It revealed the image of the guy he'd just guessed…who, coincidentally, was represented by the piece Spyro was playing as. Satisfied, Simon gave the card back without anyone stealing a peek, and slid back into his own little world…

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

While wandering the halls, looking for clues for his big bro, Prof. Plumon came across one of the other guests that were trapped in the house. "Uh…Colonel Muspyro?"

"Hmm? Oh, you're the one that's friends with the detective, right?" inquired the military man, who willingly wore a mud stained yellow long coat over his shiny purple scales. "What can I do for you?"

"W-well…there's a lot of tension about this whole 'murder' thing, and I know it's really rude of me to ask this, and you're probably going to lie to me if it's true, but…well…" Prof. Plumon stammered, trying to come up with the politest way possible to say 'I think that you're literally a cold-blooded killer'.

"Oh, I think I know what you're saying. But don't worry, pal; I'm one of the good guys," said the dragon, as he pulled out some slips of paper and showed it to Plumon. "See that? I have a receipt from the florist downtown, and a reservation for the fanciest restaurant. The timestamps prove that I wasn't here when Scamina says the murder occurred."

"Really?" Plumon said, as he looked at the papers. The Colonel could be lying, but then again, Plumon had no idea how he could've faked receipts. Not knowing what to say next, the professor decided to just turn around and walk away, muttering the words, "…Well then, I guess I'll just leave you alone then…"

"Hey, kiddo, wait a second," Colonel Muspyro called out, causing Plumon to stop in his tracks. "Please, promise not to tell anyone what I just told you. I know it could help with your friend's case, but…well, all those things are for my anniversary. Whynder and I got married exactly five years ago, and I want to keep it a special surprise. Sounds stupid, I know, but I really want to make it a night that she'll cherish forever, and I don't want anyone to spoil it for her."

"…Okay then," Plumon said, finding Muspyro's tale to be quite sweet. "I promise. If anyone else says something mean about you, I'll try my hardest to back you up. And no matter who asks, I promise not to say a word about what you did last night."

And thus, the professor began walking down the hall…but, Detective Scamina was waiting for him when he rounded the corner. "Hey there, bro. Couldn't help but notice that you were talking with one of the suspects…now, you wouldn't happen to know if he's directly involved with the murder, do you?"

Plumon panicked, having not expected to run into his guardian figure so quickly. "I-I can't, Detective Scamina! I was sworn to an oath of secrecy!"

"Bah!" the detective spat. "What possible oath could be more important than the connection between bonded souls such as ours? Plumon, I'm asking you this as your brother, not as a cop: what the heck did the Colonel tell you?"

"I…I…I-gotta-go-seeya-later-bye!" Plumon quickly blurted before taking off down the corridor. Detective S. could only gaze down the hallway his bro ran down, and lower his head in disappointment.

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

The game went on for a few more minutes, with nobody too concerned about Simon's napping problem. Most of the rest of the table was just too focused on the game, though Kamina was getting increasingly frustrated. Although he admitted that Viral's actions during the last round was quite impressive, it still felt odd to consider their former enemy as an ally quite yet. Plus, being situated beside three beastmen that WAS directly opposing the glorious leader of the Dai-Gurren Brigade just increased the dissonance between Kamina's emotions. However, glancing at his sleepy-headed little brother and remembering how hopeful he was about this whole tournament mess, Kamina was able to restrain himself from yelling as loud as a fog horn when it was his turn to announce the next possible solution to the game.

"Miss Scarlet in the Billiard Room with the Candlestick!"

"What? But…but you're the one playing as Scarlet! That doesn't make any sense!" Cynder exclaimed.

"Technically, you're right…but there ain't a thing about it in the rules," Gex uttered. "Everyone, check your cards…oh, and somebody wake up that goggle-headed boy; he's missing out on all the fun."

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"That's right, you foolish morons!" the red-clothed man shouted towards the rest of the mansion's occupants, while swinging a bloody candlestick around to defend himself. "All along, while feelings of paranoia spread like a really bad flu bug, the true mastermind was twenty steps ahead the entire time! Why, there's only one being alive with enough pure-blooded determination and dedication to justice to knock off that excuse for a living being, and that being is the great Detective Scamina! Really, with 'Scam' right in my name like that, you all should've seen this coming!"

"Bro?" Plumon gasped, surprised by the revelation. "But…but why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Scamina bellowed, running up to his bro and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Mr. Boddy was plotting against our way of life! Trying to keep us this close to the beastmen that torment our land, that caused the death of your parents…it was clearly a set-up so that they could finish the job and kill us, too! And had I not murdered that man, you, Mr. Greeron and I would all be the breakfast special by now! You gotta believe me, Plumon! …Plumon! …Plumon!"

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"…Dammit, Simon! Get your head in the game!" Kamina snapped, his oddly loud tone awakening Simon for good this time. "Now, nobody else can prove that what I said was false. So, you'd better have the Scarlet, Billiard, and Candlestick cards, or else this game's gonna drive me 'round the bend!"

"U-umm, I, uh…" Simon stuttered, a bit put off by Kamina's current attitude, while searching through his cards. "…W-well, it looks like I don't have any of those. But then again, I don't actually know what a Billiard Rome is supposed to look like, so…"

"Well, that does it then; I'm opening the envelope," Leeron said, as he reached towards the small packet that contained the winning solution. He opened it up with one quick flick of the wrist, and let the cards inside spill out. Sure enough, Kamina had guessed correctly, meaning that Team Dai-Gurren had won the round.

"Well, bugger. But, at least it was a fair match," Gex mused, as he extended a hand towards Leeron. "I must say, after my battle last round against a bunch of oafish maniacs, it was a wonderful change of pace to have met you."

"Agreed," Leeron replied, accepting Gex's gesture and shaking on it. The mechanic then looked towards the other end of the table, curious as to how the others were reacting. Despite Simon not participating much throughout the match, it looked like he and Spyro were quite happy, and they were having a bit of friendly small talk with each other. On the other hand, it looked like Cynder and Kamina were still a bit tense with this whole situation; it was likely that the only reason they hadn't blown their tops during the match was because someone they deeply cared about was sitting so close to them.

Leeron couldn't help but let out a small smile. Perhaps, after this tournament was in their past, humans and beastmen really could learn to live in harmony. It was unlikely, but at least one could dream…

**SECOND ROUND - END**

**A/N:** Okay…I was originally supposed to finish up and submit this chapter one week ago, but I kinda let time slip away from me. Thankfully, if you ask really nicely, you're allowed extensions in this tournament. Oh, and I forget if I've mentioned this before, but something I love to do with projects like this is to link every little detail together, making as many Chekhov's Guns as possible. Thought that the group staying at Hotel Dusk was just a nice shout-out? …Well, it was originally, but now it's the explanation for why the team would pick to play Clue! Ah, if only everything could be connected so easily…

Oh, and one last thing: I'm really, really glad that I didn't have to come up with a 'Clue' version for Gex-as-Peacock.


End file.
